My longtime friend Richard A. Viguerie issued a press release
congratulating grassroots America for killing the Immigration Bill. I
hope Richard is right. I fear he is not. In all of the years I have
been here I never have known when the establishment really wants
something that the establishment cannot obtain it. And the establishment
really wants this bill.
Some critics point to the need for cloture, saying that proponents have
too far to go before they can proceed with debate. Wrong. If the
Republicans point to those amendments upon which they insist there be a
vote, if that is a reasonable number (and it would be because Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell wanted to pass the bill), then each party can
negotiate over which amendments will kill the deal. If each party will
withdraw one, then that will deliver 10 to a dozen votes right there.
That still leaves a few votes short of proceeding with the bill, and
mark my word, if we proceed with the debate there will be more than 60
votes to pass the bill.
This is where President George W. Bush comes in. The President is very
unpopular. He is at only 28% popularity, the lowest since Harry S.
Truman. So the critics of the bill say he does not have the clout to
pass the bill. Wrong.
Every President in each Congress can get most anything he wants if he is
involved. By involved I don't mean merely personally twisting arms. Then
what do I mean? Think of who will be voting on this bill. They are
Senators, right? There are some Senators, such as Jim W. DeMint of South
Carolina and Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who are principled. There is
little which can be done to tinker with this bill which would cause
those Senators to vote for it. But how about some others, who want
something and are not up for re-election? The President has what they
want. What is it? I don't know. It may be a federal building named after
the Senator. It may be a new major road. It could be the appointment of
someone at the White House, at the Justice Department or whatever. Often
getting these votes is very costly. We might find out about the cost a
long time after the fact. Usually we never learn the cost.
Remember when opponents of the prescription drug benefit were absolutely
sure that they had the votes to kill that provision of the Medicare
Bill. The leadership held the vote open for hours past the usual time
for roll calls. The drug benefit was then approved by a couple of votes.
I happen to know that the President spoke with holdout Members one by
one, who ended up caving. I spoke with two of the Members who had been
absolutely opposed to the drug benefit. Each one confessed to having
spoken with the President the night of the vote. One Member told me what
he had asked of the President. It appears that the President kept his
word. I asked the other Member what he had requested of the President
and whether the President had kept his word. I was told not to go there.
I saw the late Senator Gordon L. Allott (R-CO) get things from President
Lyndon B. Johnson. The things Allot wanted were not for himself but
rather for the people of Colorado. As he told me, he only bargained with
President Johnson when he intended to vote for the bill anyway. He would
have voted for the measure whether or not Johnson gave him something. He
knew how to play the game.
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